A local councillor has warned "gutless" politicians not to get in the way of a planned $2 billion upgrade of the iconic Snowy Hydro scheme unveiled by the Turnbull government.
Dean Lynch, the administrator of the Snowy Monaro regional council, says the project will bring in wealth to the NSW region by creating more jobs, bringing in technical expertise from around the world and increasing the local population.
The creation of new tunnels and power stations would lure German experts to train locals and upskill the existing workforce.
He also expects the project to pip the slated $2 billion cost, saying it could be around $5 billion with an inevitable upgrade of transmission lines, and the possibility of a government department being established to oversee the project.
"I would expect there would be a legacy from this to the region," Mr Lynch told AAP.
"You probably will see an influx of knowledge from around the world."
But Mr Lynch fears politics could spell the end of the project before it even gets up, calling on both sides to "show some vision" and back the plan.
"They should not be gutless on this," he said.
"I'm sick of gutless politicians.
"If politics brings this great initiative down it would be disgraceful. I'll be really vocal and so should every taxpayer."
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the project would bring in more jobs and infrastructure to the state, vowing to progress the plan.
"We will be working together with the feds to make sure that happens," she told reporters in Sydney.
However, the NSW government, which owns 58 per cent of the scheme, doesn't know how much money it will have to contribute towards the upgrade.
Energy Minister Don Harwin said the state's financial contribution would be cleared up when the feasibility study into the project is released.
But he lauded the plan, saying the Snowy Hydro's impact on mitigating an energy crisis was shown during February's heat wave.
"The Snowy Hydro was a key part of why we managed to get through that even without any load shedding," he told ABC radio on Thursday.
The 25-year-long Snowy Hydro scheme was completed in 1974 and brought in 100,000 migrants from 30 different countries.
At its highest point, the workforce stood at 10,000.
Mr Lynch said the modern-day upgrade will take Cooma "back to the future" - saying it was the first place to have coffee and pizzas with the influx of Europeans decades ago.
"It changed the pace of Australia, and it's all because of the Snowy scheme."
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